STATEHOUSE — House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) joined Governor Mike Pence as he signed House Bill (HB) 1002, the Indiana Career Council (ICC), into law. HB 1002 passed out of both the House and the Senate with unanimous votes, receiving unprecedented bipartisan support from each of the caucuses and their leadership. Speaker Bosma introduced the legislation in January as a key piece of legislation to the House Republican “Own Your American Dream” agenda. The purpose of the Indiana Career Council is to coordinate participants in the state’s educational, job skills and career training systems to address the “skills gap.”

Joining the Speaker and the Governor were House Minority Leader Scott Pelath (D-Michigan City) and Reps. Steve Braun (R-Zionsville) and Ben Smaltz (R-Auburn), with Senate President Pro Tempore David Long (R-Fort Wayne) and Senate Minority Leader Tim Lanane (D-Anderson), who served as the Senate’s sponsor and co-sponsor, respectively.

“At the start of the 2013 legislative session, the Indiana General Assembly made a commitment to putting jobs and education first for Hoosiers,” said Speaker Bosma. “It was an honor that this bill received such bipartisan support and accolades from the business community. The Indiana Career Council will go a long way to put Indiana workers back on the job and to equip Hoosiers with the skills necessary to meet the changing demands of a 21st century workforce.”

Designed to improve coordination, communication and vision for Indiana’s workforce training and career preparation systems, the ICC is a panel that will bring the principal stakeholders in the state’s workforce development efforts together to create a stronger plan to move Indiana forward.

More than 930,000 Hoosiers – nearly one-third of Indiana’s workforce – lack even the most basic skills to thrive in today’s economy.

“I appreciate the bipartisan and unanimous support of HEA 1002,” said Rep. Smaltz. “The success of our young people and the success of our state are one in the same. The passage of this bill validates that success comes in many forms, including college degrees and skilled vocations, equally.”

Members of the ICC will be charged with aligning the education skills and training provided by Indiana’s educational, job skills and career training systems with the existing and projected needs of the state’s job market. The legislation also puts into law a longitudinal data system to track the effectiveness of the state’s educational and workforce programs. The ICC will be charged with overseeing the data system. The ICC will also be submitting recommendations to the General Assembly on necessary improvements to Indiana’s job skills training system.

“Our goal is to make success possible for everyone, and it starts with having a great education,” said Rep. Braun. “We continue to work towards aligning our education system and job skill development with available jobs so that Hoosiers can overcome any obstacle that life may throw at them.”

HB 1002 was amended in February to incorporate military and veterans organizations due to the high unemployment rate among returning servicemen and women. The Senate also included an amendment requiring input from the logistics industry and women and minority groups.

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